1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved mounting mechanism for computer expansion boards and, in particular, to a device that can automatically retain and extract an expansion board within or from a computing device.
2. Relevant Background
Computing devices (i.e., servers, personal computers, and the like) are generally produced with an “open architecture” design to allow additional functions to be later added to the device. A motherboard on each computing device supports the main processing components and provides electrical connections to the motherboard and to ancillary components such as power supplies, disc drives, and the like. To add additional functionality to the computing device, expansion boards (also referred to as expansion cards, expansion modules, adapter cards, accessory cards, and so on) can be inserted into an expansion socket on the motherboard. Examples of expansion boards include but are not limited to graphics cards, sound cards, network cards, modems, and printer ports.
Expansion boards are printed circuit boards with one side or edge thereof including metal plated electrical connectors for mounting into a plug-in expansion board socket or other electrical connectors within the computing device. The plug-in expansion board socket typically includes spring-loaded contacts that mate with and retain the metal plated electrical connectors of the expansion board. To load the expansion card into an expansion socket in the motherboard, a user grasps the card and urges the connectors into the socket until the spring-loaded contacts are fully engaged with the edge connectors of the expansion board. Various types of clips and brackets are typically provided to try to restrain or stabilize the other or opposite side or edge of the expansion board. With horizontal expansion boards, the board is held in a horizontal orientation and pressed downward into the spring-loaded contacts, and clips and brackets are positioned at a number of locations about the edge to try to prevent the board from moving or excessively vibrating.
As computer systems have become more complex and space within servers and other computing devices has risen to a premium, expansion boards have become correspondingly denser with more components and circuitry being included on each expansion board. For instance, a blade server is an individual server having processors, memory, storage, network controllers, an operating system, and other components. Many blade servers can slide into a central chassis, which provides for high performance but also increased density. Also, the expanding use of lead-free solder creates weaker interconnects between the components on the expansion board. As a result of these and other design changes, expansion boards have become increasingly fragile and are highly susceptible to damage both during installation and removal of the boards. Additionally, the connectors on the expansion board often experience localized strain when a user is wiggling or flexing the expansion board to release the connectors from the spring-loaded contacts of the plug-in expansion board socket in the motherboard.
Hence, there remains a need for improved devices for mounting expansion boards within the box or chassis of a computer device such as a server. Preferably, such mounting devices would facilitate both installation and removal of the expansion board and would also provide a stabilizer to minimize risk of damage during movement of the computer device (e.g., during shipping or other movements that may cause the device and its boards to flex or vibrate).